If you're on a beach in the Caribbean would anyone mind if you brought back some live

[jayuws]

I'm not saying I would vandalize any reef or coral. But if you see a nice rock all by itself and you take it as a souvenir is that totally not PC?

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Yes, it is against the law to collect livestock from the ocean without a permit. You should google CITES.

 

[jayuws]

good to know especially since a few 100 lbs of live rock cost the same as a flight to the caribbean. That would not be cool trying to explain why my bags weigh so much.

 

[inkblue]

No.

 

[jayuws]

Is there a way to turn dead rock into live rock or is this like trying to get blood out of a stone?

 

[NYreefNoob]

yes you can you just need some live sand or a piece of live rock it will seed the rest of the rock

 

[jejton]

Yes, it is against the law to collect livestock from the ocean without a permit. You should google CITES.

From any ocean? I've heard that some locals ( to NY ) who SCUBA out on the island often collect tropicals that get brought here by the current. Is that different because they aren't native and would die once the cold sets in?

 

[daisy]

I think there is a difference in terms of legality of bringing things home from abroad and bringing stuff home from the beach that you live near... or maybe it's not legally different, but i think you're less likely to get caught committing local "theft."

On the other hand, the impact on the environment may be the same in either case - we're taking from the ocean, and it is simply not a zero net effect.

On the other hand, take something that doesn't "belong" where you find it, and let's say it lives for 8 years in your system when it would certainly have perished wherever you found it..... well, it lived a better life, but stuff has been drifting that way for millenia (perhaps), and in taking it, you have depleted the local system of some "food?" ...perhaps....

the ocean is all connected - it's something to think about.

The good news is that you don't have to buy 100 lb of live rock - buy 10 lb live and lots of great shape dead, give it time and all of it will be live.

 

[jejton]

Daisy, you make an interesting point or three but assuming the wildlife you collect ( legality issues aside for arguments sake ) is not endangered, threatened, etc whatsoever. Is there any difference between collecting it from your local tidepool or buying it from the dealer? One can argue that the former is better since the cost in organisms is less being that you are taking one and putting that one in your tank while for every fish that makes it to the LFS, countless others die along the way. Before I get flamed, I am not condoning collecting something in the Bahamas and sneaking it home ( read first sentence ).

 

[OctaviousMonk]

The life part in live rock is simple. What people are often after is the various densities and shapes inherent to the rocks of certain areas. So your question is just silly by nature. Most of the "hitchhikers" some people are after in there live rock wouldn't be found in some small piece found on the beach. It is safer, cheaper and more echo friendly to buy some dead rock and then seed it with live rock from someones established reef.

 

[Killerdrgn]

Hey hypothetical question, would it be legal then to say make an aragocrete piece of rock and then have it cure in the ocean in the carribean while you on vacation there. Then take it home when you leave.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Harvesting livestock and rock from the ocean requires a permit. There are permits and areas designed for the curing of acrocrete rocks in the ocean as well. In fla there are lots of spots but the hurricanes have taken a toll on them in recent years.

Cites

I look at it this way, would you like to have a guest come to your house, use the toilet and instead of flushing smear feces over the walls? If the answer is no, then don't go to someone elses house and do it.

 

[leoskee]

When I first started a saltwater tank I had the traditional coral skeleton decorations. During a trip to P.R. I was snorkling and stumbled upon some corals (stylo) that looked like they were dying. I was able to easily brake off a large colony and took it to my grandparents house where I put it in a bucket and put water and bleach. The coral came out just like the ones they sell in the stores. Now I know that the coral I got was from a part of a reef that was bleaching. I also understand all of the nasty looks I got from several tourists that saw me walk away from the beach with the coral. If I could do it again I would not. I was only 16.

As far as live rock. During another trip to PR I brought back about 20 lbs of live rock I collected from a tide pool a few hours before I returned to NY. The day before I called the airport authorities and they told me that I could take the small amout of rock as long as there werent any living organisms on them. I wrapped them in newspaper, put them in a small box and checked them in as carry on baggage. I even asked the lady that checked me in if it was okay and she said yes. I put the rock in my tank and had a few interesting hitchikers that came for the ride. If I could do it again, I would not.

Your better off getting things through the right channels than to try and save some $$$ and in the long run create problems for yourself and possibly for the environment around you (a good example is the culerpa that ran rampant in CA).

 

[ellebelle]

As a quick side note on this thread, the stuff from the Caribbean is quite tightly regulated. You would be very unwise to remove something without a permit. You should also be aware that the airline regulations are pretty strict now, with all of the liquid laws. You would certainly have to check anything that was collected and that will be COLD.

 

[jayuws]

Thanks leo,

Even though everyone probably thought about it no one would admit it. I would never take anything that is in danger of being extinct. But I wouldn't be surprised if alot of people take small live rocks on a beach. I'm not going to the caribbean anyway.

With my luck I would end up with something that would kill my whole tank.

 

[ellebelle]

I stole sand dollars off of a sand bar in Florida. I took them in and bleached them.

I know now I should NOT have done that and that they were alive. I was 11.

 

[noelskii]

i took home some crabs from a local beach in glen island and put them in my fowlr tank. had it for a about a year and got too big so i gave them to the lfs.

 

[fishguttz]

whenever I go to the carribean I find nice pieces of tufa lying on the beach and I set up new homes for fish in the shallow water. It's like setting up a tank that you don't have to care for. I always expect to go back and find it, but never do.